A Gay Time

“This will make two evenings you've lost this week,” said Ma. “And tomorrow night there's church. We are living in such a whirl of gaiety lately that I declare—Was that a knock at the door?” ~Little Town on the Prairie

“Whirl of gaiety” is one of my favorite phrases from the Little House books, and lately it describes our calendar. It’s the season for gatherings of various sorts, after all. We attended one event Saturday morning that was especially enjoyable. It was an International Christmas celebration hosted by a local church. There was no sermon involved, however. Instead, we visited people of different nationalities—from Canada to Germany, Argentina to Ireland, Australia to Zimbabwe, and about a dozen other countries. They wore traditional dress of their country, and greeted us in their native language with the usual salutation used where they were from. Getting to meet people from other places and compare cultures is so interesting. It never fails to bring a new perspective on something. Many of them also had musical instruments from their country and played songs of their culture. Some played Christmas songs we were familiar with and we recognized the tune, but several were new to us, and very beautiful.

What could make such a morning even better? Food, of course! And there was a buffet of ethnic foods. I’m not even sure what all of it was, but it was almost all delicious. Some especially memorable dishes were the vegetable korma from India (I love Indian food, and everything on this buffet was authentic), enchiladas from Mexico (who doesn’t like Mexican food?), and a cabbage & carrot soup from Indonesia. That doesn’t sound particularly special, I know, but it had some sort of delectable spice, and the broth was silky smooth, and altogether it was sublime. There was also a dish—from Africa, but I can’t remember whether it was Ghana or Kenya; it was one of those—vegetables spiced with another unfamiliar but delicious flavor in a pastry pocket, that was scrumptious.

Of course I never even thought to take a picture! Maybe next year. I’ll definitely be on the lookout for this event again.